Links to Related Sites
April 17, 2003
Cardiovascular institute planned for eastern medical center
Artist's rendering of the heart hospital and an adjacent
center for cardiovascular education, research and outpatient care. Click on image to download.
Led by ECU 's Division of Health Sciences and Pitt County
Memorial Hospital, the flagship hospital of University Health Systems,
the organizations plan to build a heart hospital and an adjacent
center for cardiovascular education, research and outpatient care on
the health sciences campus in Greenville.
These facilities, the planning for which would begin in 2004,
will be called the North Carolina Cardiovascular Diseases Institute
and will be headed by renowned heart surgeon W. Randolph Chitwood Jr.
The institute is expected to be a statewide and a national resource
because of the reputation of ECU 's existing cardiovascular program.
"Heart disease is, unfortunately, something in which our region
is a national leader," said ECU Chancellor William V. Muse. "It makes
perfect sense that ECU and University Health Systems should take the
lead in addressing this devastating problem for our region. Our
partnership, which is unique in North Carolina, has the talent and the
will to get this job done."
Dave McRae, chief executive officer of UHS, said the new
institute will knit together cardiovascular services throughout the
region in a way that will serve as a model for other medical services
as well as predominantly rural areas.
"This institute will be an important step in fulfilling our
basic mission to improve the health of all of the residents of eastern
North Carolina," he said. "We will do that by not only creating this
resource in Greenville, but by linking with and supporting the work of
hospitals and physicians involved in a daily battle with this disease
in our region."
Components of the institute will include:
Chitwood, who will become director of the center July 1 pending
final action by the ECU Board of Trustees, is best known for his
pioneering work with valvular and robotic heart surgery, which has
brought international acclaim to ECU and PCMH.
Chitwood 's vision for the institute, mapped out in a detailed
strategic plan last year, concentrates all the specialists involved in
the care of heart and vascular patients-university and private
practice cardiologists, cardiothoracic and vascular surgeons,
radiologists, pediatric heart specialists, nurses and therapists--into
a single operating entity focused on heart and blood vessel disease
and congenital heart disease. This approach identifies patients
earlier, when their conditions are usually more treatable, and avoids
the delays, disconnects and redundant testing that occur when medical
providers work in relative isolation from each other.
"The population of individuals with cardiovascular disease and
those who are at-risk are extremely important in the overall health
care equation," said Chitwood. "In the past, they were medically
underserved. Now we need to make sure that they are properly served
in order to gain the advantage over this disease. But this is an
extremely complex task that requires a great deal of coordination."
Eastern North Carolina consistently leads the rest of the state
in mortality from heart and vascular disease, which is responsible for
nearly one in three deaths in the region. The number of cases of
heart disease is expected to grow substantially over the next decade
purely as a result of the aging of the baby boom generation. Measures
must be taken now to respond to this increase, said Chitwood.
The other hallmark of the cardiovascular institute will be an
idea that has been linked with Chitwood throughout his career:
innovation. He is among the world 's leading figures in the
development of minimally invasive methods of surgery, culminating most
recently in his work with the da Vinci robot. He and his surgical
team were the first in North America to use the robot to repair
cardiac valves and they later led the Food and Drug Administration
clinical trial of the da Vinci robot for mitral valve operations.
Under his leadership, the institute will become a focal point
for clinical research on the devices and techniques that will continue
to push back the frontiers of cardiovascular medicine and surgery,
resulting in better medical management of the disease, shorter
hospitalizations, quicker recovery times and less pain for patients.
###
East Carolina University and University Health
Systems of Eastern Carolina today announced plans for a major
initiative to fight cardiovascular disease, the leading killer of
North Carolinians and an especially tenacious foe in eastern North
Carolina.
UHS expects to fund the construction of the heart hospital with
bond debt. ECU hopes to receive support from the North Carolina
General Assembly in funding its portion of the institute.